The Masqerade : C i M s O n T e A r S.
by Jason Freeman
Summary: Alternate Universe. Ranma is left by his father at a young age and is set upon a path that will lead him to learn the true nature of his heritage. whether he wants to or not. He learns to hunt those of the night. But what do you do when you find that you
1. Prolouge

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DISCLAIMER: RANMA 1/2 , VAMPIRE HUNTER D, VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU AND WORLD OF DARKNESS: THE MASQERADE ALL BELONG TO THEIR   
RESPECTIVE CREATORS AND ARE ONLY BEING USED IN A FANFICTION STORY SO I DON'T OWN ANY OF THEM.I POSTED THIS STORY UP   
BEFORE BUT FOR SOME REASON IT DISAPPEARED SO I'M PLACING IT UP AGAIN.  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
[[ Radio frequency ]]  
:thoughts:  
"( english )"  
"Japanese"  
  
  
******************************************  
CRIMSON TEARS PROLOUGE: INNOCENCE LOST  
******************************************  
  
Kitakami Mountains, Japan  
  
The Surrounding Forests of the mountains contain hundreds of species of animals  
of hundreds of different varieties. Normally the forest can be heard full and teeming  
of the wildlife that was place upon this earth by divine beings thousands of years ago.  
From the sound of deer or birds chirping in the air normally there would not be a   
single square of land that was filled with melody and life. However today the forest is silent  
and devoid of any sound creating a deafening silence over the entire surrounding lands.  
The forest itself seemingly empty of the life that it once contained just days ago.   
  
why?   
why is did all the forest creatures leave or place in hiding?  
fear.  
They can feeling it.  
Something evil is roaming the forest.  
something horrible. hunting.  
And so in fear they leave.  
And there is only silence.  
silence.  
  
The Were-beasts moved silently through the forest as they attended their  
attention for any signs of prey. They had already passed through a couple of the   
humans villages and took what they wanted. The were-beast Lo'rang, head of his pack  
runs through the forest his pack-members behind him. He was the strongest of the  
pack at 7'1 with a large build and dark brown fur. Running through the Brush he   
suddenly slows and stops his pack-members silently following him. His enhanced smell  
picks up something and he stiffens slightly.  
  
: Breeze downhill...snif..snif..three scents..snif..snif..humans: a slight look of  
distaste crosses his face.  
  
: peh..Humans disgusting little creatures. Nothing but Cattle for those of the night  
Taste pretty tolerable though, nothing like a good deer in its prime but not to bad:  
His thought ended on that note almost thoughtful look upon his face. Before a malicious  
smile spreads upon his face and a psychotic gleam appears in his eyes.   
  
: prey. :  
  
-----------------------------  
  
Genma watched silently in disapproval as the two kids played around   
laughing. Genma Saotome was a man that age had not taken itself well toward him.  
He was a heavy set man and had the signs of a beer belly emerging from the Karate  
gi that he was wearing which was taking on a Grey tint itself from lack of washing.   
He in terms of personality and morals he was on the lower end of the scale of humanity  
and had the tendency to forgo his morals and conscious in favor of his greed and stomach  
and if any conclusion can be seen from how he was raising his son he full intended to   
place such...ahem. 'loose' morals upon his offspring.  
  
: hmm.. friends will just make the boy weak.:  
  
He glanced at the Yattai cart next to him and a slight smirk danced at the edge of his  
lips.  
: At least the boy is becoming useful ..the Yattai cart should last us a good couple  
of weeks and all I had to do was engage him to his daughter :  
  
Returning his attention back to the two kids he sunk further into thought. Of course he  
had absolutely no actual intention of keeping the arrangement. He was just helping the  
boy practice for his real engagement to one of Tendo's girls to unite the schools of   
Anything Goes Martial Arts...err yeah that right. Besides the boy is still just a child  
he'll probably just forget her in a couple of months anyways. Taking the cart in hand  
he approached the two kids. He had to move quickly. He had already lost Mr. Kuonji about   
half a mile back and needed to grab the boy and leave before he finds them.   
  
-----------------------------  
"na..na can't catch me!"   
"come back here you jackass!"   
  
Chibi-Ranma laughed as he ducked under another swing from Chibi-Ukyo's large Spatula.  
He hadn't had this much enjoyment and fun for as long as he could remember and hope   
that they could stay here for awhile with his new best friend Uuchan. He had never had  
a friend before much less a best friend so He held him close to his heart and valued their  
friendship greatly by any six year olds standards. Suddenly they were covered in a  
large shadow and stopped their Game to look up to see who blocked their sunlight.  
  
"hi popa!"  
" come along boy we have to go." stated Genma in a gruff voice.  
  
Chibi-Ranma looked downcast and sad at this new news.  
  
" w..what we gotta go now?" Chibi-Ukyo poked her head around his shoulder and saw Genma  
carrying the Yattai.  
  
"hey Mr.Saotome how come ya got my dads cart?" Genma suddenly started to sweat and  
look around nervously and retorted to the Saotome Family philosophy of ' insult them  
until they are mad enough follow you to hell and back '.  
  
"Boy! playing with a Girl has made you soft! now come along we need to leave Now!"  
Ranma merely cranked his head to the side in confusion.  
"wadda mean boy poppa? Uuchan's a guy!"  
  
~BOP!!~   
  
"I'm a Girl you Jackass!" Chibi-Ukyo yelled while dislodging her spatula after bopping  
Chibi-Ranma on the head.  
  
"Really?!"  
"didnt ya know!?"  
"B..but."  
  
Genma who had enough of this childish display ..and nervous about Mr.Kuonji finding  
them decided to intervene.  
  
"Enough! Come along Boy W.." But was suddenly cut off when his danger sense went   
skyrocketing and a low growl could be heard coming from in back of him. Tensing up  
he slowly turned around and a silent 'eep' escaped his lips at what he saw faced him.  
A group of large beasts with muscled fur covered bodies with large, sharp teeth bared  
and a low growl could be heard emanating from the group. He knew and understood the   
glint that could be seen in their eye for he had the same glint many times before. The  
look of that you were hungry and just found dinner. So he utilized the only technique   
he knew to do in a life and death threatening situation. He used the dreaded Saotome  
School Final Crouching White Tiger Technique.  
  
  
....In other words he wailed and Begged.  
  
------------------------------  
  
Lo'rang smirked in amusement as the Fat, Smelly Bald Human crouched before them muttering  
incoherently and offering them nearly anything just so that they would let him go alive.  
He could hear Several of the other pack-members huff in laughter at the pathetic human's  
attempts at preserving his own presumably meaningless life. He crunched his nose in   
disgust as his were-enhanced sense of smell caught the stink emanating off the  
Human before him which stunk of predominantly Sake and a number of other things. However  
he raised his eyebrow at some of the things he was offering. It would seem the human  
instinct of self-preservation was incredibly high for this one as he was even offering  
the other two small humans next to him. Lo'rang suddenly smiled as a thought and Idea came  
to his mind and waved a hand instantly silencing the fat looser.  
  
"Enough...I have decided to agrrree to yourrr offerrrr human.." the man immediately  
began to thank him When Lo'rang smiled as he stated the terms of the agreement.  
  
"In exchange forrr the two youngerrrs as you sssaid of courrrse..." He was delighted  
as he watched the mans face turn to shock to worry and a multitude of other   
expressions and silently hoped that the man would rebel. It would make killing him  
that much more fun. He gave a mental pout when the man gave a sad sigh before nodding his  
head in agreement.  
  
------------------------------  
  
Chibi-Ranma stood in absolute shock as he watched the proceedings in front of him.  
poppa w.was leaving him?...He inwardly cringed as he felt a torrent of emotions  
flow through them and felt a growing pain in his chest as every second passed by  
and could only watch silently as his father forfeited his life to the were-beasts. Along  
side this torrent of feelings he could feel something else begin to surface  
in his soul, something cold and unfeeling, slowly and lightly whispering to him  
about terrible things, to do terrible things. Meanwhile Chibi-Ukyo stood   
behind him and was not taking the news nearly as well and let her opinion known.  
  
" YOU JACKASS WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING!!!!! "  
  
The WereWolf smirked and at her before returning his attention to Genma.  
  
"Verry well you may leave..." Genma gave them a last apologizing glance before   
turning back and thanking the Were-beast and immediately took the Yattai and started  
sprinting away. All of the surrounding Were-beasts were-beasts were laughing some even  
rolling on the ground holding their sides while watching Genma run away like a dog with  
its tail between its legs.  
  
Ukyo seeing that all of the monsters attention seemed to be distracted spotted an  
opening and grabbing her best friends arm and pulling him along as they sprinted through  
the opening and into the forest in an effort to escape.  
-----------------------------  
  
Lo'rang couldn't help but erupt in laughter as he watched the fat, smelly man running  
away after abandoning the two younger's.   
  
:Heh.. typical human behavior ..no sense of loyalty.:  
  
However one of the recovering werewolves, a thin but agile pack brother named Kalt'on  
had noticed that the other two humans had fled and left through a small opening into  
the surrounding woods to the east.  
  
" Lo'rrang the two childrrren have escaped." Lo'rang waved his hand in a dismissive manner to the   
pack-brother.  
  
"No matter we have their scent...come...let us hunt." With that Lo'rang grinned for a   
moment before raising his head up to the sky and releasing a bone-chilling howl and soon  
was followed by the howls of all his other packbrothers.  
  
The hunt had begun.  
  
----------------------------  
  
The two children crashed through the woods as fast as their young bodies could take  
them as they rushed through trees brush not taking notice if some clothing was caught   
in a twig. If they tripped and fell down they didn't make a sound in fear of further  
giving away their position but soundlessly scrambled back up and kept running. In the  
distance behind them the sound off of howls could be hear only serving to increase the  
tempo of their running. However this was only partially true for one of the children. As   
Ukyo was running in almost a blind panic the only two things on her mind was running to  
safety and of holding on to her best friend's arm as she led them. Ranma's mind however  
was torn between paying attention to where they were going and sorting out the feelings  
that were tearing within his very soul.  
  
His father had left him. For up to his life at that moment his father and the art were  
the only two things that he could depend on always being there and so built a dependence  
upon them which would explain why he still stuck with Genma despite everything Genma  
put him through. However that is not the case and so little Ranma's mind is for the   
moment thrown into chaos. He could feel the dull stinging sensation he was feeling in his  
chest begin to increase and a slight headache surface in his head as the whispering and  
dark, cold feeling began to increase tempo slightly. however, despite all of  
the turmoil he was going through a couple of coherent thoughts came into his mind.  
  
:m..momma gone:  
:p..popa gone.:  
:be martial artist..:  
:..only Uuchan:  
:..Uuchan:  
  
He was momentarily shaken from his thoughts as a he felt a cool wet sensation in his  
feet and became aware of the fact that they were apparently crossing a small stream.  
suddenly his childish mind kicked into overdrive as he thought back to all the time  
when they would be chased by animals they would always run into the river because  
Animals track by smell and in river they can smell. A idea forms into his mind and   
he suddenly stops in the middle of the river. Ukyo took a couple of frantic steps   
before noticing that he had stopped for some reason and looked liked he was thinking  
about something. The distant sound of howls echoed in the distance and Ukyo looked   
around frantically at her best friend.   
"Ranchan what are you doing?" Ranma remained in the position for a couple more  
moments before nodding his head to himself and then looking back at his friend with  
a determined look in his little eyes.   
  
"Uuchan your shirt off." Ukyo looked at Ranma in confusion.  
"wha.."  
"trust me I got a idea." Ukyo nodded and took of her shirt so she only  
wore a white t-shirt underneath it. taking her over shirt he put it on himself  
before turning back to her.  
"k.. I remember once when me and da..pops was being chased by some doggies and pops  
said that they find people by smell and that if ya cross a water thingy they can smell  
you no more so I think its same with those things so I'm gonna run that way and you  
run down that way through da water so they follow me and not you."  
  
Ukyo tried to protest her concern but he stood firm in his decision and soon she relented  
and gave him a soulful hug before letting go.   
  
"pinky promise always be friends and more no matter what." She said sniffing with tears in her  
eyes while holding out her pinky finger. Ranma nodded happily for a moment and they shook   
their pinkies before she took off running down stream leaving Ranma to watch her for a moment  
before hearing the howls get closer and shivered before sprinting across the stream  
and running into the forest as fast as he could. Overhead the sun cast a dull blood red glow over the   
sky as it began to set almost as a forewarning of what was to come.   
  
----------------------------  
  
The were-beasts stopped when sighting the stream. One of the head hunters crossed the   
stream and sniffed around before calling out.  
" I've found a trrail with both thierrr scents. theirrr heading this way!!"  
  
Lo'rang nodded and signaled all of the others to follow and they ran. However one  
stayed behind and sniffed the air in the middle of the stream for a couple of moments  
before glancing back in the direction the rest of the pack had gone and began traveling  
downstream instead.  
  
----------------------------  
  
Ukyo was running as fast as her little legs could take her through the forest. She had  
traveled downstream for about half a mile before running back into the wood in the   
opposite direction from where Ranma had gone. She could feel the blood pumping through   
her body and her heart and lungs felt like they were going to burst. She was terrified   
at the moment as she ran through the forest alone and wished ranma was with her. She hoped   
with all her heart that Ranchan was going to be ok and was worried about him but trusted him  
like noone else but her father and so followed his directions. Though she was a little   
mad that he didn't realize that she was a girl he was still her best friend. Right now  
however her mind was completely focused upon running away and so she kept going until  
her legs simply failed her and she felt to the ground in a exhausted heap. She laid there  
for a couple of minutes the forest of trees around her silent except for the sound of her  
labored breathing.  
  
: I..think..that...I..got...away.. : she thought to herself between gasps of air.  
  
:..maybe..ranchan..lead..them..awa..: her line of though stopped and she felt a cold  
feeling settle in her stomach when she heard a low growl emanating from behind her. All  
other thought locked up and she slowly turned her head inch by inch her entire body  
beginning to tremble until she faced the source of the growling.  
  
It was one of the were-beasts.  
  
He was at the moment crouching about thirty meters away from her about to leap.  
  
Ukyo did the only thing her seven year old mind could come up with.  
  
She screamed.  
  
----------------------------  
  
Ranma ran through the forest the only thing on his mind was getting as far as possible   
from the were-beasts after him. The forest and brush almost blurred past him. He could  
feel his heart feel as if it was about to burst his lungs burning from lack of oxygen  
he was supplying to them. Finally he cut through some extra brush and found it opening  
up to a clearing. Running though the clearing his legs suddenly at that moment decided to   
take a rest and he stumbled onto the ground and gasped as the air was knocked out of him.  
He sat there for a couple of minutes simple gasping and trying to recover the lost air from  
his body and kept telling his body to move. That they need to move. need to get away.   
But his body refused to respond and cooperate and the best he could do and begin to   
walk a few shaking steps before stumbling once again. As he felt fell he gritted his  
teeth from yelling as he felt his knee scrape against a rock and break skin. He felt  
tried. His body was screaming at him to stop and his emotional status was a complete  
wreck the only thing keeping him moving was to give Ukyo more time to escape. All the while  
he could feel the cold painful feeling in his chest whenever he would think about his  
father. His mind was only now beginning to decipher what truly his father did to him  
and was in emotional hell trying to sort the feelings going through his mind. He shook  
his head in a effort to dispel the voices and whispers that were getting louder  
and louder and felt like there where people talking all around him and it was  
beginning to become painful. He felt a cold shiver run up his back as he heard a   
low grumble that seemed to be a mix of a growl and chuckle from behind him.  
  
"well..well it looks as if the prrrey is morre rrresourceful then anticipated..."  
  
Turning around he looked up to see Lo'rang emerge forest with other werewolves  
following behind him. his eyes Widened in fear at the sight and he began to scramble  
back and run in the other direction only to see a couple of more were-beasts emerge from  
that direction and his heart sunk as a realization dawned upon him.  
  
He was trapped.  
  
"It would seem that yourr companion has escaped for the time.."  
  
His eyes widened and he could feel his heart leap.  
  
:u..Uuchan got away..: but all feeling left his soul and his skin paled when a scream  
could be heard ringing in the distance.  
  
Lo'rangs grin quickly formed into a malicious smile. "..orr perrhaps not..."  
  
But Ranma didn't hear his words the scream echoing a hundred times within  
his mind. Time froze in Ranma´s mind as the ice covered his mind, covered  
his very soul. The scream and images of Ukyo played and replayed in his  
mind. The laughing little bo..no girl played in his mind and the fun they  
had with their games. A small part of his mind remembered his father saying  
that how girls were weak and that he shouldn't play with them. But at the  
moment he was seriously reevaluating and discarding anything that his  
'dad' has ever taught him.  
  
He didn't care.  
  
Uuchan was his best friend.  
  
his only friend.  
  
was dead.  
  
dead.  
  
The word and its meaning echoed deep into Ranma's soul. His eyes were stuck  
forward staring into something only he could see. Blocking out everything   
around him he didn't notice anything much less how the were-beasts were coming  
progressively closer and closer closing a tight circle around him. A image  
of Uuchans face appeared in his mind. It was a sunny day and they were laying  
on the ground in the grass with a cool breeze passing through them while they  
lay and watched the clouds go by. He looked at her and couldn't but help  
smile at her peaceful face and marked it in his mind.   
  
carving it into his heart. forever.  
  
He closed his eyes and shed a single tear.  
  
a tear for Uuchan.  
  
a tear for his innocence.  
  
both lost.forever.  
  
Taken.  
  
Destroyed.  
  
by them.  
  
As peaceful as he was outside, his visage only changed by the single tear trailing  
down his cheek inside his soul a emotional geyser exploded. The  
ice and coldness that had taken control of his mind and froze his soul blew up and  
melted as the fires of rage, hatred and a thousand other feelings that he had never  
felt or experienced before coursed through his entire body. For a few precious   
moments He was nothing more then a entire mass of confused feelings his mind   
desperately trying to sort them out but failing. Then from the chaos one feeling  
surfaced and took dominance over all.  
  
The need for Vengeance.  
  
But despite all this Ranma was not a complete fool. Though Genma took very little  
notice of his sons education for many subject he made sure Ranma was taught Battle  
tactics and strategies like his ABC's. Ranma's mind computed the situation and knew  
that he didn't stand a chance against one of these monsters much less the entire  
pack.   
  
his Soul and mind howled and screamed in anguish and frustration.   
  
He needed to be stronger to beat them.   
  
he needed more power.   
  
But where could he get the power to destroy them?  
  
To satisfy his hungry and need for Vengeance.  
  
For their blood.  
  
Then He found it.  
  
The voices.   
  
The Whispers.  
  
By now the voice that were heard within his mind had increased in volume until   
almost everything had been block accept for their voices. Before he had ignored  
them. But now he listened to what they had to say.   
  
Hatred.  
  
pain.  
  
vengeance.  
  
vengeance.  
  
He could feel the darkness within those voices and knew that something was not  
right about them.He knew that it was a power that emanated from a side of his   
inner being that belonged to his wild, uncontrollable side. A power that until  
now had remained dormant within himself.  
  
They were not natural to this world though somehow he knew  
that they were apart of him.   
  
But that didn't matter .   
  
they promised power..and with that something even more.   
  
vengeance.   
  
So he accepted.  
  
He embraced the voices.  
  
Embraced the power.  
  
From that moment on a part of Ranma died to forge a new Ranma.  
  
His eyes opened; his deep blue turned into solid red as he looked at his  
surroundings, searching for the ones who did this, the one's responsible  
for all his pain.   
  
they were all around him.  
  
Finally taking notice of his surroundings he found that the were-beasts were  
now looking at him with a look of terror and fear and were beginning to back  
away. to escape.  
  
he would not allow that.  
  
Opening his mouth a silent scream of anger and hatred laced with pain escaped his  
lips. He felt the power fill him as a soft red aura started to burn around him,   
blood-red with black tendrils mixed into the pattern.   
  
All that burning in his mind was revenge.  
  
And then there was only Darkness.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
The Were-beast that were surrounding him being to back up and a feeling of fear  
spread through the pack as a dull blood-red glow began to emanate from the   
boy before them. Lo'rang watched as his pack-brothers slowly began backing up  
from the menacing aura surrounding the child. He knew that they had good reason   
to fear.They all could feel the power emanating from him and were  
worried for only one reason.  
  
They knew this power.  
  
They had felt it before.  
  
It was the power of the Aristocracy of Darkness.  
  
The rulers of Night.  
  
Kindred .   
  
The eternal Enemies of the Werebeast Clan's .  
  
Vampires.  
  
However, before any of them could react the childs eyes opened and Lo'rang and he knew  
his fate was sealed by looking into the boys eyes and confirming his suspicions.  
  
They were blood-red.  
  
He was Kindred.  
  
Powerful Kindred.  
  
He watched, paralyzed in fear and hatred, as the child's hair began to flutter as if pushed by some  
unseen wind and he opened his mouth a silent scream of fury emanating from him as the  
aura surrounding him suddenly flashed and exploded in a fury of power, his fangs becoming  
visible as they grew in length with his fury.  
  
The last thing he saw was the howling sound of wind and a flash of blinding bright  
light before a sudden sensation of pain overtook him and the world went dark.  
  
  
  
End Prolouge.  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
Please Send Comments to : Jonny_demonic@hotmail.com  
.No flames please.  
---------------------------------------------------- 


	2. Chapter 1

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------  
  
DISCLAIMER: RANMA 1/2 , VAMPIRE HUNTER D, VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU AND WORLD OF DARKNESS: THE MASQERADE ALL BELONG TO THEIR  
  
RESPECTIVE CREATORS AND ARE ONLY BEING USED IN A FANFICTION STORY SO I DON'T OWN ANY OF THEM.I POSTED THIS STORY UP  
  
BEFORE BUT FOR SOME REASON IT DISAPPEARED SO I'M PLACING IT UP AGAIN.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------  
  
[[ Radio frequency ]]  
  
:thoughts:  
  
"( english )"  
  
"Japanese"  
  
  
  
****************************************************************  
  
CRIMSON TEARS CHAPTER 1 : LOSS OF A CHILD, BIRTH OF A HUNTER  
  
****************************************************************  
  
Kitakami Mountains, Japan About Ten miles away  
  
Despite the violent events occurring miles away, much of the forest remains undisturbed by it and remains in a quite but comforting silence only broken by a low sound coming from far away. A sound of a slight rumbling of a what sounds to be an engine can be heard in the distance. The Rumbling noise steadily increases in tempo and volume until upon the main dirt pathway of the forest a vehicle can be seen. It looks to be a large hybrid between a truck, Train and tank almost with slick black armoring with spacing shaped to the form of the holy cross covering the entire structure. The Front also has a large window in the shape of a cross upon it. Soon the vehicle slows down and stops smoke exhaust streaming from the pipes under the vehicle. Inside, the vehicle in the front steering sits a man.  
  
From accurate description he could be described as gruff. Wearing a shirt pants  
  
with a some light leather armoring and a double metal shoulder armor with a necklace  
  
hanging down his muscle hardened chest with a holy cross at the end. His face  
  
was much like his personality. His features much like someone who have found in  
  
a woodsman or lumberjack with a mop of coal black hair and a short beard tracing along  
  
his chin line to the chin itself. upon the dashboard sat his arm fitted crossbow and to the  
  
side of his chair sat a quiver of silver arrows ready to be drawn and shot within a moments notice or less. He sat there a cigar gripped between his lips as he waited. A radio stood to the front of him as well as a number of small monitors stood blinking sending back hundreds of bytes of information about the area to him as they hunted their prey.  
  
The radio responder crackled to life and young brash voice sounded from the other end.  
  
[[ Borgoff I found some tracks ..looks like they passed by here awhile ago...about  
  
four, five hours old max ]]  
  
Borgoff grinned and took a smoke of his cigar enjoying the harsh warmth and sweet  
  
taste of tar and nicotine it provided . the hunt was on . They had been paid a good  
  
deal of money by all of the surrounding villages and towns to help destroy and rid  
  
of the Were-beasts that were terrorizing their homes and crops. Three villagers have  
  
already been killed ...one of their corpses found half devoured. They had been sighted  
  
in this general area but they had lost their trail two days ago but finally found  
  
it again. From the descriptions given by those who had seen them it looked to be a pack of Werewolves also know as Garou. Normally most Garou could be considered allies but it was known that their were a couple that are twisted mentally or physically and even both by their eternal enemy, the entity called the Wyrm. Borgoff guessed that this was the case since Werewolves tended to not eat human meat.  
  
[[good we got a fresh trail. Nolt . you there?]]  
  
[[yeah]] a single response can from the second oldest of the brothers.  
  
[[ Nolt, head out with Kyle and scout out those were's position. Me, Leila, Grove and  
  
Chang will follow up right behind you. ]]  
  
[[ got it. ]]  
  
[[ no problem ]]  
  
"( what is the progress on Kyle and Nolt? )" came a soft voice behind him. Spinning his  
  
chair around Borgoff turned to face Chang Lu Fi, the latest member of the Markus brothers bounty hunters. He was Japanese with a average height and build and wore traditional Chinese clothing consisting of trousers, jacket and slippers and wore his hair straight down his back and Borgoff noted his graceful steps which spoke of great power behind them. Chang was the resident martial arts specialist of the group and could even  
  
throw energy projectiles if he wanted. however Borgoff himself preferred a quiver of  
  
silver arrows to such any time though the skill could come in useful.  
  
He returned his attention to the monitor and watched it tracked his two brother's progress.  
  
According to the map they were about twenty miles ahead of them and approaching rocky terrain. Adjusting the monitors controls give more information about the area he addressed Chang on their newest lead.  
  
"( Kyle's found the Werewolves trail and is scouting the path out with Nolt on  
  
backup. )"  
  
  
  
Chang nodded and turned to begin walking back when there was a huge flash of light  
  
and a resounding boom could be hear in the distance. The intensity of the light was  
  
so great that both of them had to cover their eyes momentarily from the flash .As  
  
quick as it had come however the flash resided.  
  
"( What the hell was that?!! )" Borgoff yelled  
  
"( I felt a huge discharge of dark energy... )" started Chang  
  
"( ..Vampires. )" finished Borgoff with a sneer.  
  
"( What going on? what the hell was that flash? )" Leila came running up. Her features  
  
entailed light blue eyes and short blonde hair with a lithe figure giving her excellent  
  
agility and speed. She was wearing a red moto jacket and khaki's with a large gun holstered  
  
to her side ready to be drawn at all times.  
  
"( we don't know but Chang here felt a huge discharge of dark energy and you know what that  
  
means.. )"  
  
"( vamps. )" replied Leila her face contorting in disgust.  
  
Borgoff nodded silently in confirmation before a thought came to him.  
  
"( Fuck! Kyle! and Nolt! were in that direction.! )" Grabbing the radio he tuned the  
  
radio into the proper frequency and spoke into the radio.  
  
[[ Nolt. Kyle. are you guys alright? ]]  
  
[[ were here Bro. ]] a audible sigh of relief can be heard from Borgoff's lips and a  
  
grin returns onto his face before responding [[ What the hell was that! ]]  
  
[[ We don't know. we were heading toward the site when we got blinded by that sudden burst of light. It looked to be about three miles from our position, we going to check it out now. ]]  
  
[[ Got it. Chang said that the flash was dark energy and that means vamps are in the  
  
area so keep an eye out. ]]  
  
[[ got it ]]  
  
For about ten minutes the radio crackled in silence as they waited for their  
  
report. Suddenly a cry of 'holy shit!' could be heard from the speaker.  
  
[[ Kyle what is it?! ]]  
  
[[ ..... ]]  
  
[[ Kyle! ]]  
  
[[ ..s.shit Borgoff..you gotta see this! ]]  
  
[[ what?! what is it? ]]  
  
[[ trust me just get over here. ]]  
  
Borgoff dropped the receiver and faced the pair who were already waiting for orders.  
  
"( Chang your with me . Leila stay here with Grove )" both nodded and Leila went back in  
  
to check on grove the youngest of the Markus brothers while Chang and Borgoff unloaded two uni-cycle units.(1)  
  
With a slight tap the engine came alive and gave off a humming sound, the monitor  
  
flicking on and a number of charts and gauges came to view. Placing a pair of goggles on  
  
each nodded to each other before taking off in the cycles with a cloud of dust soon as their  
  
only sign of passage.  
  
------------------------  
  
The surrounding land whipped past them in a blur and the wind howled and screamed in their ears as they approach the coordinates that Kyle sent them at blinding speeds. Soon  
  
a large boulder came into view with both Kyle and Nolt sitting on top of it. Nolt was  
  
a simply huge behemoth of a man. over 6'7 in height and built like a tank his strength has  
  
gone unsurpassed by any human. He was dark tanned skinned and wore a black sleeveless trench coat with nothing underneath and blue pants tucked into a pair of boots with steel shin protectors with a massive steel cone tipped hammer connected by an equally strong 5 meter long handle resting upon his shoulder with disturbing ease. His facial features are hard as stone much like his frame with a short Mohawk of black hair and light blue face paint upon his face in the shape of a cross.  
  
Next to him stood Kyle the youngest of the brothers next to Grove. The direct opposite of his  
  
older brother kyle had a lithe and quick body structure with short mop of bright orange hair  
  
and sharp facial features to his brothers stony one. He was dressed in a orange skin  
  
tight protection suit with light black shoulder pads and had black fingerless gloving and a  
  
belt with two shelves for knives in the front and two in the back for his main specialty  
  
which were the handling of a multi-bladed knifes. Upon seeing the two of the cyclists  
  
approach they jumped off of the boulder and walked over toward their direction.  
  
Borgoff and Chang dismounted and jog up to meet the two brothers, kyle has a strange  
  
look upon his face and Nolt is silent as usual.  
  
"( what is it ya wanted to show us? )"  
  
Kyle pointed toward a narrow dirt path between the piles of boulders. "( We saw the  
  
source of light coming from there and just wait till you see it.. )"  
  
They followed Kyle up the path for about five minutes before the pass opened up to them  
  
and revealed where commotion had originated from. Chang was about two meters behind Borgoff and Kyle so when he saw Borgoff reach the top only to stare and mutter a curse he hurried up the path.  
  
"( what is it that is so intere... )" The words instantly died in his mouth and he began to  
  
imitate Borgoff as he stared at the scene below him.  
  
The fact that the pathway opened up to a small clearing was of no great concern. The fact that the clearing was filled with werewolves would have been. However the problem was that though the clearing was full of them there wasn't a single actual _whole_ werebeast there.body parts were strewn everywhere..hands...feet...torso's...heads.. could be seen and identified all over the place along side other things which were not so identifiable. The grass seem to take on a dark red sheen and the land itself seemed to be almost colored in a reddish tint. The ground had numerous crevices in it as if someone had taken a huge knife and craved into the earth itself. Entire tree's were cleanly cut into  
  
pieces and littered the ground next to all of the werewolves bodies. In the mist of all  
  
this carnage and bloodshed was a single crater and in the middle of the crater laid a  
  
single little boy. From first glance he could be guessed at about age of 7 years old and  
  
was dressed in a ratty grey karate gi that hinted that it was once white long ago and  
  
a patterned checkered cotton jacket was laying next to him. As  
  
Borgoff gazed at the massacre in front of him he could only sum it up into one single word.  
  
"( shit. )"  
  
---------------------  
  
Two Hours Later. Twenty Miles Away.  
  
Ukyo shivered as a night breeze chilled her skin as she sat upon a large boulder her  
  
metal sharpened battle spatula held to her chest and her eyes constantly on watch  
  
for any suspicious movement. A shiver crawls up her spine as she thinks back to  
  
how close she was to death.  
  
**flash back**  
  
  
  
:..maybe..ranchan..lead..them..awa..: her line of though stopped and she felt a cold  
  
feeling settle in her stomach when she heard a low growl eminating from behind her. All  
  
other thought locked up and she slowly turned her head inch by inch her entire body  
  
beginning to tremble until she faced the source of the growling.  
  
It was one of the werebeasts.  
  
He was at the moment crouching about thirty meters away from her about to leap.  
  
Ukyo did the only thing her seven year old mind could come up with.  
  
She screamed closing her eyes and waited for the inevitable.  
  
There is sound of a swish in the air and a Roar of fury followed by the brief sounds  
  
of battle and she could feel a wet liquid splashing onto her in droplets. Through out  
  
the entire scene she doesn't dare open her eyes, afraid of what they might reveal, her  
  
panic almost taking total control of her trembling body. Soon the sounds of battle  
  
end and the 'thud' of a body hitting the ground can be heard. So she sat there her  
  
knees held up to her chest and curled into a fetal position when she felt herself  
  
being gently lifted into someone's arms she stiffened and prepared to resist when  
  
a gentle voice laced with worry broke her out of her trance.  
  
"Ukyo honey are you alright!?"  
  
For a moment her mind didn't register the owner of the words but slowly her mind  
  
recognized who had said them and her body slowly uncurled itself until her eyes  
  
met the familiar soft brown eyes of her father.  
  
"po..popa?" Her voice was but a whisper filled with hope and uncertainty as if she  
  
didn't believe what her eyes were telling her. Mr. Kuonji smiled his own eyes  
  
beginning to fill with tears as he pulled his baby girl into a hug.  
  
" Yes honey it's me ..your safe now baby nothings gonna hurt you..shhh..your safe.."  
  
As her father continued to comfort her his words finally began to take effect and  
  
the dam of Emotions began to break down. At first it began to come in trickles but  
  
soon she was finally releasing all the pent up anger, fear and numerous other emotions  
  
she had been holding back as she cried and sobbed into his shoulder, her father  
  
simply cradling her as whispering reassurances into her ear. After thoroughly  
  
crying for about ten minutes the tear finally ceased and she suddenly felt  
  
exhausted, everything began to get all blurry the last thought going through her  
  
mind was of her friend.  
  
: Ranchan I hope ur ok. :  
  
** end flashback **  
  
When she had woken up it was dark and she was still in her father arms. After a  
  
couple of minutes of arguing and explaining to her father what had happened and  
  
assuring him that she was going to be ok she managed to convince him to go and  
  
look for Ranma. He had left about an hour ago and she was beginning to get worried.  
  
what if he had gotten hurt? Maybe he ran into more werewolves?  
  
: no. popa's a good fighter he'll be alright. : She thought with the unbreakable  
  
trust and confidence that every child instilled into their parents automatically.  
  
A sudden rustling could be heard about two meter away and Ukyo instantly jumped up  
  
and dropped into a stance in the direction of the sound her battle spatula ready, her  
  
heart beating like crazy , a million thoughts running though her head as to what  
  
it could possibly. After a few minutes she could feel the familiar fear beginning to  
  
surface when the stranger comes out into the moonlight and a voice is heard  
  
through the darkness.  
  
"Ukyo?"  
  
"Popa!" instantly Ukyo was by his side hugging his waist her spatula and fears gone  
  
and forgotten in a instant. After a moment she noticed that something was missing.  
  
Her mind suddenly realizes _who_ is missing. A cold feeling settles in her stomach  
  
as she looks up to her father who has a sad expression upon his face. Her voice  
  
almost in panic her tugs at her fathers apron.  
  
"p.popa wheres Ranchan? where Ranchan Popa!?" His only response a simple  
  
shake of his head and the agony of silence. Ukyo's eyes widen and tears begin  
  
falling from them as she begins to understand what happened.  
  
"i..is ranchan..de.dead?" Mr. Kuonji said nothing gathering his Daughter in a warm  
  
embarce.  
  
:..ranchan is..gone?: For a moment her mind played back the statement before her tears  
  
begin anew as she grieves for her first and best friend. lost. forever...  
  
Mr. Kuonji silently sighs as he holds his crying daughter. He didn't want to tell her  
  
what he had found from the bright flash he saw while traveling away from the  
  
direction of those monsters. The entire clearing was drenched with blood and had the  
  
beginning scent of decaying flesh. The whole place was filled with pieces of what looked  
  
to be the same monsters that attacked his daughter. After emptying his stomach he went  
  
looking through the field and found, in the center of the field, in a crater the remains  
  
of a shirt he knew to be his Ukyo's and remembered her telling him that Ranma had taken  
  
it and his logic led him to the obvious conclusion. He was furious at the Saotome's  
  
after finding that Bastard Genma had left him and now was absolutely livid at the dishonorable shit's action after finding out what he had done to Ranma and his baby girl.  
  
However, after listening to Ukyo's explanation to what had happened he could only feel regret and a small sense of pride for the young Saotome. What ever his father may have been Mr. Kuonji knew that his son would have grown to be a good young man and any dishonor that had been brought upon the Saotome family name had been forgiven as far as he was concerned for Ranma's sacrifice for which he was eternally grateful.  
  
: ..may kami-san light your way wherever you are young man..for whatever your father  
  
may have been it was good to know his son was a true martial artist...to the end. :  
  
With that thought he shed a tear for the brave young man before turning his attention back to his daughter who was grieving for the loss of her best friend.  
  
------------------------  
  
He is floating in darkness.  
  
Stretches as far as his minds eye can see.  
  
Is this death?  
  
He tries to move only to find he cannot.  
  
Voices.  
  
He can heard voices and glimpses of conversations.  
  
"...what should we do wi..." A female's voice from the tone and pitch.  
  
"...Bring him onto the n..." A mans voice. Rough.  
  
Soon it is all replaced by the sounds of rumbling all around him.  
  
surrounding him.  
  
Engulfing him in Darkness.  
  
silence.  
  
  
  
------------------------  
  
A soft groan escaped his lips as Ranma began to regain consciousness. He awoke to find  
  
himself in some sort of tent. he recognized it easily enough since he had been living in one for the past couple of years. He looked down to see that he was in a sleeping bag. He  
  
tried to move but his body loudly protested as he left the warmth of the sleeping bag and  
  
could feel the biting cold touch his skin.  
  
:..w.where am I?:  
  
His eyes widen as the memories come crashing back to him like a flood. The werewolves.  
  
the betrayal. running. the plan. running. the scream..Ukyo. the voices. power. darkness.  
  
He could feel tears building in his eyes but forced them back in a conscious effort. He  
  
would not cry again. Crying was weak. He was weak . It was weakness that made him  
  
run away instead of fighting..weakness that made him tremble in fear at the werebeasts  
  
instead of facing them...  
  
..it was weakness that made hid best friend..his only friend.. die.  
  
:..Uuchan..:  
  
He let a few tears fall for his friend before steeling himself inside. He had failed  
  
Uuchan. He looked at his hands before making a promise that would change his life  
  
drastically. He promised to grow stronger until he could protect. Grow stronger to  
  
destroy those that would take life away. He promised to never shed another tear  
  
until he had fulfilled his promised.  
  
Only then could he cry...  
  
Only would he allow himself to grieve...  
  
Then and only then.  
  
He closed his eyes and remaining still, his body trembling as he resisted its cry for  
  
release. Soon the trembling subsided and he felt his emotions were finally under control he  
  
went to explore his surroundings. His mind functioned more efficiently after a good rest and could feel the voices that he had heard before gone leaving no trace of their existence. He let his mind wonder for a minute about what had happened to him and the strange, feral power that he had felt before. He could still feel it burning inside of him but when he tried to touch it he felt as if there was a barrier blocking him form touching it. After a couple more unsuccessful tries he gave up on it and decided to survey his surroundings. Opening and walking out of the tent he simply stood in awe at what he saw in front of him. towering over him was a large vehicle that looked to be armored in metal. It reminded him of the front of those big things that he and his  
  
pop would jump onto all the time. He stood there staring at the huge vehicle when suddenly a  
  
voice spoke right in back of him.  
  
" nice piece of machinery isn't it? "  
  
Surprised and startled Ranma immediately jumped back and took a defensive stance against the stranger while kicking himself for letting him sneak up on him.  
  
" who are you! " The stranger waved his hands in a non-threatening manner until Ranma  
  
relaxed slightly.  
  
" I am Chang Lu Fi of the Markus Brothers Bounty group and you young one? "  
  
"Ranma." Chang arched an eyebrow at his name.  
  
: Wild horse? ..well the child certainly fits the appearance.:  
  
"where am I?"  
  
" Were about twenty miles from where we found you. "  
  
" Why did you take me here?"  
  
" You were hurt, Ranma I would like you to follow me so that you can meet the others. "  
  
With that Chang started walking away with Ranma soon trailing after him in curiosity. After  
  
passing another set of tents and a number of crates with a number of pieces of wires and  
  
metal plating and gadgets they walked around the huge vehicle where a large campfire came  
  
into view and a group of people were sitting around it. four of them were Gaijin men  
  
one of them Ranma noted with some awe was huge and one blonde gaijin Women. Chang  
  
turning to the one with a green bandanna on said something that Ranma didn't understand.  
  
"( Borgoff, Ranma woke up. )"  
  
Borgoff turning his head to the young kid and looked him from feet to head. He wasn't much when they had found him but now that he had a good look at him he could tell that the kid was a natural fighter by the way he held himself.  
  
"( Ranma? Wild Horse huh? nice name. have a seat you two. )"  
  
Nodding Chang motioned for Ranma to sit down who did so. He figured that if these people wanted to hurt him they would have done so by now. Each one of them introduced themselves since they each new a little Japanese though only grove and chang were partly fluent in the language. Ranma watch them converse with each other a couple of more moments before Chang turned back to him.  
  
" Ranma we would like to know what happened to you back there if you could tell us."  
  
Steeling himself once more he retold them what had happened him his voice wavering  
  
only slightly upon the recollection of Ukyo but none the less keeping his emotions under  
  
control. He felt no real sense of hostility from them and knew that if they had wanted  
  
to hurt him they would have done so by this time. However he left out the part about the voices because he wasn't sure what they were and didn't want any of them to think he was crazy or nothing.  
  
After Chang finished translating Everyone seem to be very angry about something and Ranma felt a slight surge of fear that they were angry at him for being a coward and letting his friend die but held a little reassurance when Chang said something and gestured toward him and they all gave him a small compassionate glance. Chang walked up to him and placed one of his hands upon his shoulders and looked him in the eye.  
  
"Ranma, could you excuse us for a minute? just look around for a bit but don't go far ok?"  
  
Understanding Ranma nodded his head and went to go look around the area.  
  
------------------------  
  
Chang watched the child run off until he disappears behind the vehicle before turning back to the conversation at hand. The campfire placed everyone in a dull orange glow and Borgoff took a deep drag of his cigar, the embers of the cigar glowing as he inhaled, before releasing the smoke from his nostrils and speaking.  
  
"( well..from the kids story I'm betting it's safe to say that the corpses we found back there were of the Werewolves we were looking for...so the question remains..what now?)"  
  
"( well first thing we do is go back to those towns and get our bounty and then w... )" Kyle  
  
started but was cut off by Chang.  
  
"( I believe that Borgoff was referring to the child. )" Kyle mouthed a silent 'oh' as Borgoff nodded in confirmation.  
  
"( It's too dangerous to bring the kid with us and he could possibly become a liability but It just don't feel right to just dump the poor kid off after all the shit that's just happened to him. )" The Atmosphere around the fire suddenly heat up in anger as everyone thought of a certain bald martial artist. If Genma Saotome were to ever encounter any one of the Markus Brothers group it would probably be the last thing he does see.  
  
"( What about the dark energy that Chang sensed? )" Leila added. Chang nodded before answering.  
  
"( I believe from he evidence presented and the situation that we had discovered the child that _he_ was infact the source of the energy. )"  
  
"( How is that Possible ...I mean we found him in broad daylight and he wasn't even affected at all.)"  
  
Kyle sat next to Leila ideally playing with one of his shelved knives, spinning the object around his fingers.  
  
"( It is possible that he might be a hybrid... )"  
  
"( ya think the kid's a Dunpeal? )" Dunpeals were the result of a vampire mating with a human. A half  
  
breed that at times normally held some if not most of their traits such as strength, healing, etc. Unfortunately also because of this they are outcasts, not accepted by either the Vampiric or human society. A thoughtful expression came onto Borgoff face at Nolts comment.  
  
"( would make sense why the kid's father would take someone at such a young age out. They might of gotten kicked out of the home or something. Japanese people tend to not like oddities in their people and being half vamp would defiantly qualify. )"  
  
"( If Chang's right then it would also be too dangerous to just leave him with anyone, what if he goes off again? )"  
  
Everyone nodded in agreement with Leila's comment. After arguing back and forth for about another twenty minutes they decided to drop Ranma off at one of their contacts who they knew to trust.  
  
------------------------  
  
Ranma was currently on the other side of the campsite, sitting cross-legged watching the infinity span of darkness that composed the night sky, the small twinkle of stars could be seen off into the vast emptiness. Now that he had some time to spend while Chang and +the others conversed his mind took the time to try and sort the vast mess of emotions that he had pent up and stored away in favor of surviving against the were-beasts. He could feel a sharp pain of betrayal and a growing sense of emptiness in himself at the thought of his father.  
  
: why did you go dad?... : He could feel the pain inside him flare in intensity and felt himself upon the verge of tears  
  
but with a strong visible conscious effort managed to calm himself again. He didn't have time to dwell further upon the matter as he heard Chang- san's voice calling out for him. Leaving such thoughts he slowly got up and tracked back to where the campfire was to find Chang looking for him. Following him they walked back to the campfire where everyone had been at.  
  
When they arrived Ranma could feel all of their eyes focus onto him and felt himself become slightly more fidgety despite any effort to do otherwise. The rough looking gaijin man said something to Chang-san and he nodded before turning back to  
  
Ranma.  
  
"Ranma..I have something to ask you..we have been talking about what going to happen to you and decided that were going to probably have to drop yo.." Ranma felt a slight panic grow in his stomach. they were going to leave him too?!  
  
"why can't I stay wit you?!" Ranma's voice began to reveal his panic. Chang motioned for him to calm down before proceeding once again in a soft voice.  
  
"Ranma you have to understand. We are Bounty hunters. We hunt things that are incredibly dangerous and could ...." Unfortunately the rest of Chang's complex and well component speech to persuade Ranma to agree with them was completely ignored by the  
  
young boy as only three words registered into his head.  
  
Bounty hunters . Hunt. Dangerous.  
  
Ranma's mind computed the fact that they were hunters and therefore must know how to fight these things and soon came up with the most logical solution in his mind back up with a wave of determination.  
  
"...and that's why this is the best for you ok? " Ranma replied in a single sentence.  
  
" I want to come."  
  
"good it's nice to see that you underst...NANI?"  
  
"I want to be a hunter too." Ranma repeated himself his eyes set upon Changs and betraying no doubt in his decision his eyes burning with determination.  
  
------------------------  
  
Borgoff watched the entire interaction between them and was curious when after everything Chang had said the child replied in one sentence and it was amusing to say the least to see Chang startled in surprise. After watching them for a couple more seconds Borgoff decided to interrupt.  
  
"( Chang, wat's the kid say? )" His Asian comrade arguing with the child with the kid adamantly shaking his head and repeating the same phrase again and again before letting a tired sigh escape his lips.  
  
"(apparently Ranma is very adamant about coming along with us and I can't seem to change his mind )" Borgoff seemed to think upon this for a couple of moments before saying in a off handed voice.  
  
"( well... having a dunpeal on our team would be helpful..)" his hand quickly waving off the protest coming from the rest of his teammates. Getting up slowly he slowly sauntered over toward the child and bending upon knee placing both of his hands upon each one of his shoulders so they were face to face and gazed straight into his eyes and into his very being as he slowly spoke  
  
to him.  
  
"( ..look kid, if ya come with us you'll see things that are beyond the imagination. Horrible things. Life is only get harder ..a lot harder if ya come with us..but if ya come with us ya'll be expected to pull your own weight around.. Some of the things we hunt will scare the shit out of you.. but ya'll learn to hunt them..to kill them..if ya survive... remember if you agree with this there's no going back kid... understand? )" He motioned for Chang to translate and as he did so Borgoff stared deep into the childs eyes.  
  
Searching for the slightly sign of doubt in Ranma's eyes but finding none.  
  
He could only see only one thing burning in his eyes.  
  
Determination. Pure unadulterated Determination.  
  
When Chang finished Ranma seemed to look right back at him that surprised him for one so  
  
young and gave a single firm nod in acceptance. A grin slowly broke out upon his face as he  
  
saw this.  
  
: ...Wild Horse indeed. :  
  
"( Alright then...Welcome to the Markus Brothers Ranma.)" as Chang translated a slow smile spread upon Ranma face.  
  
A hunter was born.  
  
  
  
End Chapter 1.  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
Please Send Comments to : Jonny_demonic@hotmail.com  
  
.No flames please.  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
(1) Think the ones that Lelia used in the Vampire Hunter D: bloodlust movie to track D after thier first meeting. 


End file.
